Door Glass Repair & Replacement Toronto & GTA

steel, fibreglass and wood front doors with a decorative or clear lite. The insert comes out and the door stays hung.

the narrow panels beside and above a front door, built the same way as the door insert and replaced the same way.

large glass panels on a track. The sealed unit is replaced in the existing panel; rollers, track and lock are a separate, cheaper repair.

double doors with full-length glass panels, often used for dining rooms, patios and bedrooms.

exterior screen and glass doors over the primary entry door. Ontario requires safety glass in them.

swing doors, automatic sliding doors and vestibule doors in offices, retail and restaurants. See also storefront glass repair.

office doors, conference room glass and interior French doors.

from an impact, a slam, a forced-entry attempt or edge stress. New glass is made to size, tempered or laminated, and set into the existing surround.

an insulated door insert is a sealed glass unit, exactly like a double-pane window. Its seals are never perfectly hermetic, and once the desiccant in the spacer is used up, moisture condenses between the panes. It cannot be wiped away from either side and will not clear on its own.

usually dried-out sealant between the surround and the door skin, or loose screws. We reseal and re-tighten the surround, then check the door's weatherstripping, which is often the real leak.

UV and age. A new surround is matched to the glass thickness.

laminated glass or anchored security film is the answer, plus a look at the lock itself.

no longer safety glass in Canada, and weaker than the same glass without wire. Swapping just that pane for tempered or laminated is a sensible upgrade, and the door can usually stay.

safety glass where the glass area exceeds 0.5 m² and extends to less than 900 mm from the bottom of the door.

safety glass where the sidelight could be mistaken for a door. A full-length insert of 22 by 64 in is about 0.91 m² and reaches well below 900 mm, so it has to be safety glass; a small half-moon lite high in the door does not trigger the rule.

safety glass, which in practice means tempered.

safety glass.

separately from the building code, the Glass Doors and Enclosures Regulations (SOR/2016-174) require safety glass in exterior doors sold in Canada with a glass pane over 0.5 m² whose lowest edge is under 900 mm from the bottom of the door.

must still meet the area limits by thickness in the code's structural glass table.

tempered or laminated. Both comply; laminated holds together after a hit, so the opening is not left clear.

tempered on both panes meets the code. A laminated pane is worth considering for security or road noise.

laminated, or anchored security film on existing glass. 8 mil film is rated to ASTM F1233 and UL 972 and should be wet-glazed to the frame.

laminated, for the better sound insulation.

tempering locks stress into the glass, so every tempered replacement is cut, drilled and edged first, then tempered. That is why it must match the original size exactly and why it takes days rather than hours.

frosted, acid-etched, textured or decorative glass blurs the view while letting daylight through. Ask before putting a dark film on a sealed insert in a south- or west-facing door, because glass that absorbs more heat is more prone to thermal-stress cracks.

rollers worn flat or set too low, so the bottom of the panel rubs the sill. Clean the track, then raise the rollers with the adjustment screws near the bottom edge of the panel.

roller bearings failing, or a wheel worn through to the housing. Once a bearing seizes it stops turning and starts cutting a groove in the track, which may then need capping as well.

a dent or gouge in the track, or debris packed into it. Sand and grit act like sandpaper on the wheels.

almost always the panel riding low and missing its keeper, not a broken lock. Fix the rollers first, then realign the keeper.

ice or packed snow in the track. Clear the snow from outside, let the track thaw, dry it, and check that the weep holes are not blocked. Never force a frozen panel.

nylon wheels flatten and crack, steel ball-bearing wheels last longer, and stainless resists rust. Single-wheel rollers fail early under heavy insulated glass, so heavy glass needs rollers rated for it.

the bolt and the strike plate have drifted apart, usually because the house settled, hinge screws loosened so the door sagged, or the season changed. Tighten the hinge screws first; if they spin, longer screws that reach the framing or filled holes usually pull the door back up. Adjust the strike only after the door hangs true.

the classic sag signature, with a gap opening at the top on the hinge side.

felt lasts one to two years, tubular rubber or vinyl about five, adhesive foam less than that, and metal or vinyl V-strip much longer. Replace any strip that is flattened, torn, brittle or no longer touching the door when it is closed.

run the back of your hand around the closed door on a windy day, shine a flashlight from inside at night while someone looks from outside, or close a sheet of paper in the door. If it slides out with no drag, the seal is not touching.

a small air leak can carry about 100 times more moisture than diffusion through the same area, which is why frost on a frame often goes with a draft.

lubricate hinges and lock mechanisms twice a year with silicone spray or white lithium grease, use graphite powder rather than oil inside key cylinders, and clean sliding tracks every six months before applying silicone. Oily products hold dust and grit, which is exactly what wears the parts.

Toronto's property standards by-law requires exterior doors to be weather-tight, in good repair, and capable of being locked or otherwise secured from inside. In Ontario the landlord must keep the unit in a good state of repair, and a lease cannot shift that duty to the tenant. This is general information, not legal advice.

replacing a door in an existing opening of a detached, semi or row house with one dwelling unit needs no building permit, provided the opening's size and location do not change and the structure is not altered.

replacing doors in anything else, or enlarging or adding an opening, needs a permit.

replacing doors visible from the sidewalk needs a heritage permit, while routine maintenance does not.

exempts repair of broken window panes to original specifications from heritage permits, but requires a Minor Heritage Permit to replace windows or doors.

check with the city before you order.